Scott Pruitt, the embattled Environmental Protection Agency administrator, admitted Thursday that he signed off on controversial five-figure raises for political appointees, contradicting statements he made in a tense Fox News interview earlier this month.

Speaking at the first of two House hearings, Pruitt said gave chief of staff Ryan Jackson the green light to use a special loophole in the Safe Drinking Water Act to boost the salaries of Millan Hupp and Sarah Greenwalt, two of his longtime aides from Oklahoma who now work at EPA, even after the White House rejected the request.

There were delegations giving him that authority, Pruitt said in response to questions from Rep. Paul Tonko (D-N.Y.). I was not aware of the amount, nor was I aware of the bypassing or the [White House Office of Presidential Personnel] process not being respected.

He reiterated the statement in the second hearing later in the afternoon, and insisted he canceled the raises and resubmitted the requests to the White House.

That was the extent of Pruitts acknowledgement of any wrongdoing. The hearings one before the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, the other in front of the House Committee on Appropriations cap a month of mounting calls for Pruitt to step down.

Over the course of the first nearly four-hour hearing, the administrator defiantly blamed the media for his mounting ethics scandals. He repeatedly deflected Democrats questions about the lapses and proposals to dramatically weaken public health regulations, ducking yes-or-no inquiries with a verbose torrent of legalese.

I recognize there have been some very troubling media reports over the past few weeks, Pruitt said in opening remarks repeated at both hearings. A lie does not become truth just because it appears on the front page of the newspaper.

Asked about a proposal to dramatically limit the public health research EPA can use to write regulations, disqualifying the sort of epidemiological pollution studies that undergird federal air pollution rules, Pruitt deployed canned statements to defend what he called transparency measures. Asked if he had anything to say to the families of people who died inhaling the toxic paint stripper methylene chloride, Pruitt said he hadnt made a decision yet on a ban. Asked about his security guard moonlighting for the tabloid publisher who paid to cover up stories about President Donald Trumps reported extramarital affairs, Pruitt said he was not aware of that outside contract, and its being reviewed.

Republicans at the first hearing were swift to defend the administrator.

I apologize for the abrasiveness of some of my colleagues who would rather tarnish your reputation than address the problems facing the nation, said Rep. Jeff Duncan (R-S.C.).